Tuesday, March 03, 2015, 12:51 p.m.

N.Y. fire-rescue truck that responded to 9/11 attacks visits LR

Little Rock Fire Department Chief Greg Summers reads information alongside a New York Fire Department rescue unit that responded to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The unit, a mobile memorial, is in Little Rock through next week.

Fire truck that responded to 9/11 attacks visits LR

A rescue unit that responded to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York is in Little Rock through next week.
(By Gavin Lesnick)
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A New York Fire Department rescue unit that responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center will be in Little Rock through next week.

Little Rock Fire Department firefighter Bo Hagar said Rescue 5 had a dozen firefighters on it when it responded to the towers that morning. All but one died.

The truck and a second New York Fire Department rescue firetruck like it were restored by Remembrance Rescue Project, a group that takes them across the country as mobile memorials of the 9/11 attacks.

"When you think about the events of 9/11, you think about the sacrifices those firefighters make," fire chief Gregory Summers said, standing beside Rescue 5 at a news conference announcing the visit. "You always have that concern when you leave home: Are you going back home to your family that day? To know that I've got a piece of equipment here at central station that plays such a monumental part in our history as a nation where people lost their lives is very touching."

In Little Rock, the truck will be on display at the Clinton Presidential Library between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and again at those times Tuesday through Friday of next week.

Mayor Mark Stodola said the truck "represents the valiant sacrifices" responders gave that morning.

"We remember the courage demonstrated by those people who actually ran toward the destruction as opposed to trying to get away from the destruction," Stodola said.